The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday sought an action-taken report from Jharkhand authorities on a complaint about the murder of a 17-year-old boy by a mob earlier this month.
The NHRC ordered that the complaint by advocate Madan Mohan Priye be transmitted to the Superintendent of Police and District Magistrate of Hazaribagh and called for action-taken reports within four weeks.
The complainant sought the NHRC’s intervention for investigation by CID and compensation to the next of kin. The complaint stated that Rupesh Pandey was murdered by a mob while he participated in idol immersion during Saraswati Puja on February 6 and that internet services were curtailed in four districts after the incident. Later, rumours and doctored videos began doing the rounds on social media.
In its proceedings, the NHRC noted that a scuffle had broken out between the victim and “some members of other community”. While ordering the action-taken reports, the NHRC also sent the complaint to the State human rights commission with the instruction to inform it of any action in the matter.
